Vermont-based Laurel Hill Wind Energy LLC has been granted a zoning permit to build electricity-generating wind turbines in northern Lycoming County, county zoning administrator Fred G. Pfeiffer said Wednesday. The company plans to build the turbines along a seven-mile section of the Laurel Hill ridge in Jackson and McIntyre townships. A zoning permit is required for any development or change of use of a property to ensure it is permitted in that zoning district and complies with zoning regulations.

Gamesa Project Developer Josh Framel was on hand to answer questions and update the proposed lease agreement with the borough. Tyrone resident Dave Panasiti addressed council during the public comment section of the agenda about his and other residents concerns over a wind farm site on watershed property. Panasiti expressed worry over council "jumping the gun" with a yes or no vote based on the informal survey taken by borough registered voters at the April 22 primary, that he termed as not being "scientific." "I would of taken the votes from people who pay real estate taxes for one thing," said Panasiti to council. "And I would of taken the votes from those who pay water bills."

A new wind farm coming to the township is one step closer to realization, supervisors said. Last July, supervisors announced that Airtricity Inc., a company that develops and operates wind farms across Europe and North America, had submitted a preliminary plan to construct turbines in the township. The company has now submitted a permit application to the township, said Chairman John Topka.

The company planning to construct wind turbines in Logan Township needs supervisors to enlarge the wind zone and to back away from stricter rules, a representative said Thursday. ...Supervisors said they want remedies addressing turbine noise. "You guys aren't going to pick up [the wind turbines] and move them," Supervisor Ed Frontino said. Supervisors Chairman Frank Meloy said he visited Todd and Jill Stull in Juniata Township ..."I would not want to live with that noise day in and day out," Meloy said.

Fayette County commissioners will intervene in a civil lawsuit over proposed windmills in Georges and Springhill townships, but not necessarily because they favor or oppose the project. Commissioners on Thursday voted 2-1 to file a notice of intervention in the lawsuit, which pits PPM Renewable Energy Corp. of Portland, Ore., against the county's zoning hearing board. PPM, which has offices in Perryopolis, filed the civil suit last month, after the zoning board denied its request for a special exception and variances for 24 wind turbines.

North Union Township may join other regional municipalities that have created or are creating wind turbine ordinances. At a supervisors' meeting this week, North Union Township Supervisor Gary Croll said a group from St. Francis University, Loretto, is interested in testing wind capacity with a meteorological tower in North Union. That group is investigating the potential for a commercial wind farm. ...The supervisors asked township solicitor Paul Domalakes to review turbine information further. Croll said he didn't want to discourage alternative energy but he doesn't want it to harm residents' quality of life either.

Several people in favor of a windmill project for Wharton, Springhill and Georges townships brought their case Tuesday to the Fayette County commissioners. Speaking during public comment of the commissioner's agenda meeting, people representing carpenter's unions and themselves spoke about the need for the county to have the South Chestnut Wind Project. In February, the county zoning hearing board unanimously denied a special exception request that would have allowed the construction of 18 wind-powered turbines in Georges and Springhill townships.

Cambria Township wants to be ready when residents who are fed up with rising energy prices start turning to small wind power. Residents won't be constructing giant Gamesa-style industrial turbines, but smaller versions that - in the right place - can power homes, farms, even small businesses. ...A 100-kilowatt turbine could power a large school, and last year about 7,000 were sold throughout the nation, the group says. They are shorter - usually less than 100 feet tall - and less noisy than commercial windmills.

A Blue Knob couple is seeking unspecified monetary compensation and is asking a court to intervene to reduce noise and vibration from energy generating turbines in the Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm. A Pittsburgh attorney representing Todd and Jill Stull of Pine Springs Lane, Portage, filed a 14-page civil lawsuit in Blair County court naming Gamesa Energy USA, developers of the wind farm in Portage Township, Cambria County, and Juniata and Greenfield townships, Blair County. ...At the urging of residents, the Portage Township supervisors say they will hire a sound expert to determine whether the turbines are being operated in violation of the ordinance. Similar action already has been taken by Juniata Township officials.

The Juniata Township couple seeking relief from noisy wind turbines has taken their complaint to Blair County Court. Todd and Jill Stull, in a lawsuit filed at the courthouse, accuse Gamesa Energy USA LLC and the Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm LLC of destroying their quality of life and damaging their health. They're seeking an injunction ordering the noise to be reduced. ...The lawsuit also accuses Gamesa and the wind farm of securing permits and approvals to build on the basis that the turbines would cause no noise.

Unable to agree on an expert to gauge noise from Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm turbines, Portage Township and Juniata Township in Blair County will conduct separate studies. Portage officials said they likely will hire a company next week to conduct the sound study from their side of Blue Knob Mountain. "At this next meeting, we should have all of the information and I would hope we can come to some resolution," Supervisor Ken Trimbath said. ...Trimbath said the company doing the study must be acceptable to Babcock & Brown, owners of Allegheny Ridge. "My concern is the other way also: The results must be accepted if there is not a noise problem," Trimbath said.

Ridgetops are the most effective locations for wind farms in central Pennsylvania because they have the strongest winds, according to Juniata Valley Audubon Society President Stan Kotala. The problem, he said, is that the ridgetops are home to unbroken forests and wildlife. "Some of these areas are important bird and mammal areas," Kotala said. "The ridgetops are the last forest habitat in central Pennsylvania." ...Similar concerns have driven other townships to establish ordinances restricting wind farms. In October of last year, the College Township Council adopted an ordinance prohibiting wind turbines above an elevation of 1,400 feet. The ordinance also regulates the sound levels and lot sizes of wind farms. "The area is not compatible to wind farms," said Council Chairman David Fryer, who voted for the ordinance. "There is no place for them here."

A survey of voters outside the seven borough polling places showed 55 percent favored leasing watershed property to Gamesa USA. Of the 2,932 registered Democrats and Republicans in the borough, 1,094 participated in the nonbinding, secret ballot poll. Borough council members tallied the slips after the closing of the polls, with 601 for the lease and 493 against. ...Gamesa hopes to put up to 25 wind turbines on Ice Mountain in Snyder Township, Blair County and Taylor Township, Centre County. The lease would pump $150,000 a year into the borough.

The results of a survey conducted outside the seven polling precincts in Tyrone yesterday suggests that there may a growing sentiment among the borough residents to allow wind turbines on Ice Mountain. According to the survey, which over a thousand voters participated in, 55 percent favored leasing the watershed property to Gamesa USA.

Logan Township should adopt tighter rules governing wind turbines, the township Planning Commission agreed Tuesday. "I feel this is more restrictive, which is good," commission member David Rhoa said. The township recently advertised revisions to its ordinance governing turbine construction and placement, with action scheduled for the May 8 supervisors meeting. If the revisions are approved, turbine developers will be required to commission an environmental impact study identifying noise and other issues that could surface for nearby property owners. The changes also specify that turbines can be no taller than 270 feet.

Wind energy is part of the state government's initiative to promote renewable resources. ...However, not everyone sees wind energy as the solution. ...The construction of wind farms, however, can be expensive, and they must be refurbished or decommissioned after 15 to 25 years, according to wind experts. Companies that build them rely heavily on substantial federal tax credits. In addition, area power companies are offering customers the option to voluntarily pay higher energy bills to promote wind energy. Because of all the complications, not all plans come to fruition, including a proposal to build 25 turbines in Cross Creek Township that developers recently scrapped.

Eight turbines will be on Highland Sewer and Water Authority property above the utility's secondary reservoir. Highland agreed to participate after investigating the environmental impact, Manager Ed Englehart said. All plans have to be reviewed by Highland's engineers. "We checked with our hydrogeologist," Englehart said. "He is firmly convinced they don't pose any environmental damage." Opponents of another wind farm proposed for Shaffer Mountain have raised concerns about the construction's watershed impact and threat to endangered species. Such development is always an environmental balancing act, said Secretary Kathleen McGinty of the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Eric Glitzenstein, a Washington, D.C., attorney who is preparing the lawsuit, referred to the Endangered Species Act. "The courts view the unauthorized loss of even a single member of such a species to be an irreparable harm that should be prevented," he wrote in an e-mail. The letter of intent is required by the Endangered Species Act, he said. The groups have yet to decide where the suit would be filed, Glitzenstein added. "Our hope is that Gamesa - which touts itself as an environmentally responsible company - will agree either to do the right thing and abandon this ill-considered project site or, at least, do what is required by federal law and not proceed without applying for an ‘incidental take permit' from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service." The Indiana bat has been a protected species since 1967.

The tiny, endangered Indiana bat lives on Shaffer Mountain in northeastern Somerset County and that should be enough to keep 30 big wind turbines off that ecologically sensitive Appalachian ridge, according to three environmental groups. The groups -- Sensible Wind Solutions, Mountain Laurel Chapter of Trout Unlimited and the Allegheny Plateau Audubon Society -- yesterday served the Spanish-owned wind power company, Gamesa Energy, with a notice of intent to sue under the federal Endangered Species Act. According to the notice, the site where the 404-foot tall turbines and 18 miles of service roads would be built on 22,000 acres of leased land is confirmed habitat for the Indiana bat, listed as an endangered species since 1967. ...Gamesa officials yesterday declined comment.

"We don't want to stop development and we need to do whatever we can to protect the residents," said Chairman Allan Griffith. "But there has to be a happy medium." Kern expressed concerns with letting wind developers build constrained by only county codes for the placement of turbines because those deal primarily with setback issues and limiting the distance that a turbine may be placed near an occupied dwelling. "I just think that there are safety issues and property issues that are not being taken into account," he said. He pointed to the controversy in Cambria and Blair Counties with the Allegheny Ridge Wind Farm where residents and public officials have leveled noise complaints against developer Babcock & Brown. ...Griffith, said the proposal had been put off for too long. "This is something we have to come up with," he said.